Celebrate the Season of Resoling with three free resoles

September marks the beginning of Autumn, the return to school, and the pulling out of your sweaters from the drawer. It’s also a great time to finally resole that pair of shoes or boots that you’ve been meaning to get to. We all have them- the dress shoes that have danced at one too many weddings, the hiking boots that have climbed one too many ridges, and the sandals that have shuffled through one too many trips to the beach.

Resole America loves Resole Season, for obvious reasons, and wants to help spread the cheer by giving away three free resoles to our blog readers.

The people behind Resole America have been fixing shoes since the 70′s and the company itself has been hard at work since 1997. They’ll take your worn out footwear and breath new life back into it with a new pair of soles. You’ll get your shoes back to you in 8-10 business days after you drop them in the mail and they’ll be in better-than-new condition- they’ll have the fresh sole of a new shoe but will already be broken in to perfectly fit your foot.

How to Enter:
- Leave a comment here on this post answering this question: what has been your favorite pair of shoes? Are they the soccer cleats you wore when you won the high school championship? Or maybe the dance shoes from your 6th grade recital? Or the comfortable old sandals that shuffled you through college?

Spend a paragraph of text and tell us about your favorite pair of shoes in the comments here. I’ll select three winners from the first ten people who respond with a comment by rolling a ten-sided die three times (if I roll doubles I’ll roll again until I hit three unique numbers). The first person to respond will be assigned #1, the tenth to respond #10. I’ll choose a winner as soon as we get 10 comments.

I clicked over to Random.org and pulled out the numbers 1, 3, and 10, so congrats to Angela K., Josie S., and Andrew Bourgoin for winning! Each of you won a free resole or shoe conversion from Resole.com. To claim your prize, please email me at sheagunther@gmail.com and I’ll get you started.

For the record, my favorite footwear are the Alps sandals that my grandfather bought for me when I was a teenager. I’ve had them for nearly twenty years now and they’re just as kickass now as they were then, if just a bit worn down. They are probably ready for a resole, now that I think of it.

I think my favorite pair of shoes have to be a pair of Franco Sarto brown heels. They are unique, slightly asymmetrical. I remember choosing them because they were so different than anything else out there, and I get endless comments on them. They also stick out because I purchased them for my first real foray into professional life (in college), and the purchase corresponded with my move out of my parents’ house.

I still have them. They need to be resoled, but I’ve kept them pristine, considering it’s been a few years since I bought them.

Although I didn’t know it after the first few months of wearing them, my favorite shoes are probably a pair of Birkenstock Footprint shoes I bought in 2000 when I was battling some foot problems (i.e too much time in ski boots). At first, I couldn’t wear the shoes for more than a few hours of walking and standing without some discomfort. But after the initial period of wearing in that cork footbed, the shoes became the most comfortable, dependable shoes in my quiver. They feel like extensions of my feet.

They don’t make that particular style anymore but they’re in great condition and with the right kind of care they could last another 10 years.

My favorite shoes are my mbts. I wear them everywhere. I can walk for hours in them and there is never any discomfort or strain on my feet. They helped me through some back pain last year and I actually would have relief from the pain by walking around in my mbts. I wear these shoes everyday and they are worth every penny. I plan on getting them resoled soon to preserve them for as long as possible.

My favorite pair of shoes have to be my Adidas Rod Lavers. Sleek, simple shoes that forms to your foot the more you wear them. Plus, as a tennis fan it doesn’t get better than Laver. He’s never compared to McEnroe, Borg, Agassi, Lendl, Sampras, etc., but the dude won 2 Grand Slam titles and was the best player in the world for something like 7 or 8 straight years. THese shoes can work on the court or do well in formal attire…just an all-around great shoe.

My favorites have always been free second hand shoes. My first was a pair of Birkenstocks. I would have never bought them myself because they were hippie shoes. Boy was I wrong. My all time favorite I received from a friend as being too small for him and a half size larger than I wear. They are the classic lace up army boots. On the farm they are tough. My feet stay dry. Great ankle support in the fields. I call them my romper stomper boots. And guess what? They need resoled.

My favorite pair of shoes are my Montrail Java trail runners. I bought them back in 2000, and though the soles are worn smooth, the Gore-tex is still waterproof and they’re still super comfortable. I finally retired them to the closet this summer after I returned from a work-trip in Cameroon where, after a long day of trekking between villages, the soles had almost entirely peeled off. The shoes have served me well, and I think I can get another decade of use out of them with a good resoling!

My all time favorite shoes are boots. Redding boots. I used to wear them to work when I longshored for ILA in Texas. They were rugged, durable yet comfortable enough to were on uneven concrete and mud. I used to put lots of mileage on those boots. Funny thing is, a quick wipe down and they were ready for use on a night on the town. Yep you guessed it, it’s a small town. Those Pecos were great! Now I’m a teacher and were Dr. martens pretty much every day.

My favorite shoes ever are probably a pair of keen boots. I keep them in my car all the time in order to help monitor my comfort in response to the weather. Often I’ll wear them in the morning when it’s chilly, then switch to sandals mid-day when it gets cool, then bake to the boots again at night. That scenario allows me the option to actually comfortably wear skirts year round. I also love how they cinch up with a zipper so they’re really quick on and off. If it’s wet I always wear them and charge straight through puddles without any worry.

Hands down, my Vasque hiking boots. My mum bought them for me when i was 13 and fourteen years later they are still my go-to winter/trail shoes. They have traveled up mountains, into the Sahara, on the moors, across streams, and down into caves. They have survived New York City sidewalks, Maine’s snow, Seattle’s rain and Dschang’s dirt. They have kept me standing through many hours in the painting studio. Yes, they smell a little funky now, but other than that, they are as good as the day i bought them.

The pair of Nike running shoes that I have been wearing while training for a marathon this summer take the cake. Sure, they are comfortable, look cool, and have a small area in the soul that fits a transmitter chip that let’s me digitally track my jogs, but indeed, they are much, much more. Everytime I see these red sneakers, I get excited to be healthy, so take care of my body, to enjoy the outdoors. It’s become almost Pavlovian- just putting them on puts me in a better mood. They are a constant reminder of the power of being steadfast to commitment, and have provided me with hours of enjoyment. I’ll lace them up this Sunday for my first marathon, and give thanks during every mile marker that the shoe has gotten me through the training, and eventually, to the finish line. By far, my favorite shoe.